Well, here we go. It's officially cold.

Talk about hostas, hostas, and more hostas! Companion plant topics should be posted in the Shade Garden forum.

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HostaDesigner
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Well, here we go. It's officially cold.

Post by HostaDesigner »

It's gonna freeze every night for nearly a week. Good luck, knock on wood, fingers crossed, and all that stuff. :o
thehostagourmet
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Cold

Post by thehostagourmet »

Here too.

George
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newtohosta-no more
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Post by newtohosta-no more »

Same here. It was a high of around 80 yesterday and right now my outside thermometer says it's 40! My body doesn't adjust well to 40 degree swings in temps. :roll:
~JOAN~
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Tomorrow is promised to no one, so love and laugh today.
Becky in TN
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Post by Becky in TN »

TN also has cold weather forecast. Mostly around freezing but Mon nite projected to be 26. It makes me sick. It is harder to protect from 26 then 31 or 30.
Wonder if it is worth the effort?
I already have several that are quite unfurled. Those are the hardest to protect. Should I focus on those that are just barely up? I can mulch them and they might make it.

The nice ones in pots I could move to the porch and cover. With heat from the house those can be doable.

But then we haVE THE SCATTERED beds with hostas eyes 6-8 inches or unfurling. Those are the hardest to protect. The forecast calls for winds so anything I cover with has to be anchored. And then removed come morning.
Is it worth the work? I have around 450 -500 hostas.

What are you doing???

Becky in TN
Wanda
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Post by Wanda »

We are under a Snow Advisory today/tomorrow, and barely a mile away from the Winter Storm Warning area...it better not cross that line!!! Expecting 3-6” of snow just from this storm, with more snow to come each day until at least Sunday. Oh, well, at least the snow blanket should protect the hosta from the temps well below freezing...sigh. The next time we can hope to be above freezing is next Saturday...with lows of 15-17 degrees at night until then.

My husband is in the UP...they are under a Blizzard Warning!!!

wanda
Libby
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Post by Libby »

Forecast was for freeze tonight but it went down a night early. :eek: The only ones protected were those still under pots from yesterdays hail. Just might leave them like that for the week not knowing if it will help or not. Covering the rest now seems to be the question since they froze last night.

At least I'm not alone and in good company to deal with this hosta trauma, but it's so depressing!
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Tigger
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Post by Tigger »

They're teasing us with predictions just above the freezing point, and also with some threat of wet snow (haha my fingers typed a "t" instead of a "w" on that last word).

And yesterday I was ditch-digging (yup) in 70-degree weather. Hey, also expanded one of my shade beds by about 2 feet. I'll have to gather some leaves to throw on montana aureomarginata, whose leaves are already starting to unroll. Hopefully the tips on others (notably Rasperry Sorbet, who seems early this year) will be fine.
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MikeWI
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Post by MikeWI »

Snowin' here in MKE right now.... Ice on the fountian and outside dog dishes this am..... No hosta up yet.. going to take another pass through the garden tonight and cover a few things.....
Mike
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hostarod
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Post by hostarod »

Cold here too folks and some snow flurries.
YUK

the spring flowers were blooming and looking wonderful a couple days ago, they are laying flat here now after the teens overnight here.

Think Spring
eastwood2007
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Post by eastwood2007 »

Here, too. Sorry everyone. It is sad. And sorry, but knowing everyone is in the same place doesn't lessen my depression any at all!!! I know...I'm just a whiner, but mine are just mature enough to really look good this year! I was really cranky upon coming in last night after covering everything. I missed the weather forecast at 10 so didn't see till this morning that it is going to be 21 Easter morning.

I am really worried about my minis and the ones I planted last fall...do you think putting blankets over them, on top of the pots I covered them with, would help?
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renaldo75
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Post by renaldo75 »

69 degrees here Monday afternoon - down to 38 midafternoon yesterday , but with the cold wind it felt a he((uva lot colder!! :x 25 here when I got up this morning.

I just looked out after reading Rod's tulip comment. Mine are all laying low too. :( I just looked at the ones outside the back door & took a quick glance out the front to the ones out in the butterfly garden. I don't want to look - there's over a thousand tulips out there.....this is their 5th spring. A few had just started to color up & open Monday. :(
GO HAWKEYES!!!

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eastwood2007
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Post by eastwood2007 »

Sorry, Renaldo....It only got to 29 here this morning so I think everything is okay, yet. I only have a few tulips and they are in full bloom. I guess since it is only going to get worse, I will go out and cut them and bring them in, otherwise I don't think I will get to enjoy them at all. We have had temps in the upper 70's/low 80's for about 2 weeks.

My lilac bush is the fullest it has ever been and the blooms are huge! I guess I'll go cut those, too....hohummm!! :cry: :cry: :cry:
I took some pics of my hostas yesterday before I covered them. I'm really glad now! The worst thing is, that I have been very busy, so I haven't even gotten outside to enjoy those nice temps and everything sprouting...thought I would have lots of time! :???:
Charla
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ademink
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Post by ademink »

I just finished my ECHO....Emergency Hosta Covering Operation. :lol:

I filled nursery pots with mulch and then put them over the top of anything that had eyes sticking up.

Hostas w/ full leaves got dug up and brought into the breakfast nook...28 in all. Guess we won't be eating in there for a week!! :lol:
Help! I'm being held hostage!

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eastwood2007
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Post by eastwood2007 »

Good job! :lol: It doesn't hurt the ones to dig them up? :hmm:
Charla
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ademink
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Post by ademink »

It may set them back a little bit but not much. A lot of them were just planted last year mid-late summer so I think they'll be fine. If it was a big, established hosta, I wouldn't have done it.
Help! I'm being held hostage!

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Wanda
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Post by Wanda »

Ok, folks, I am officially (and gratefully) passing my “Most Overly-Obsessive Hosta Mothering Crown” to ademink!!! I may cover/uncover 500+ unfurling/open hosta whenever temps fall below 30 degrees, but I have never gone so far as to dig them up and bring them into the house!!! (hehe) (hehe) Not that I hadn’t thought of it...but with the hosta gardens’ square footage being over 4 times as large as the house...it just wouldn’t work (hehe).

UPDATE: We are now under a Winter Storm Warning, one narrow county away from the Blizzard Warning Area. Over an inch of snow covering everything, snow pouring down like flour out of a sifter and with wind gusts up to 40 mph. Lovely spring weather...sigh...

wanda
ademink
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Post by ademink »

:lol: Thank you! Thank you! I accept the crown with much humility and embarrasment . roflol

I am supposed to be on a garden tour this year in early July and I'll be darned if I'm going to let my hostas "go ugly early" on me! :lol:
Help! I'm being held hostage!

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eastwood2007
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Post by eastwood2007 »

spoken like a true gardener...everyone will want to know your secret for keeping your hostas so beautiful even thru a hard spring freeze! Maybe you have started something...you can come up with a quick-release system so you can just pluck them out of the ground and off they go!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: You could patent it and become a millionaire. When you do, don't forget about all us here!!!! :D
Charla
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ademink
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Post by ademink »

ROFL - it'll be like one of those tree digger machines w/ the big cone-shaped claw only it'll be hand-maneuvered. I'll just have little prefabricated burlap sacks that attach to it...chunk it in the ground and extract them! :lol:

Even though it was COLD today (15 degrees w/ wind chill) it was still wonderful to be out there averting crisis. There were flower blooms everywhere and it was fun just to be outside knowing Spring really IS here! This is just something to keep me distracted until it's time to REALLY garden! :D

YIPPEE!!!!
Help! I'm being held hostage!

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eastwood2007
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Post by eastwood2007 »

What a trooper!!!! :D :lol: :D
Charla
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